Miracle Minor

A touch quicker than creator Alec Issigonis intended…

Few things make a better basis for a Q-car than the humble Morris Minor – and few Minors would have much chance against this one. It’s on offer at Sussex Sports Cars, which claims it to be “possibly the fastest 1275cc car in the world”.

It was previously owned by Derek Hood of the recently beleaguered JD Classics, who entrusted the car in its original form to a specialist dragster builder. As is sometimes the case, the project ran away with itself and ended up costing about £44,000 to complete – with the result you see here. Said to be ideal for sprints or hillclimbs, the car features an A-series engine fitted with a single, two-inch SU carburettor and – more significantly – a recently overhauled Shorrock supercharger. The set-up is mated to a slick Toyota Corolla five-speed gearbox driving an axle with a limited slip differential, while the brakes have been upgraded all round.

Competition-spec, rose-jointed suspension has also been fitted, along with all the race essentials such as a roll cage with removable diagonal, plumbed-in fire extinguisher, Cobra race seats with full harnesses and a boot-mounted alloy fuel cell. The car retains its all-steel bodywork which, like the chassis, is said to be in excellent, rust-free condition.

“We acquired it about three years ago and have had fun with it, but now it’s time to move it on to someone else,” says Gerry Wadman of Sussex Sports Cars.

“It has been built and maintained to an exceptionally high standard and, like many such projects, the cost of completing it proved to be far more than most people would be prepared to pay – so at £15,950, it’s a very good deal.”